The Martial Unity

Rui heaved a sigh of relief at her words. He hadn't expected to be so close to witnessing a battle between Martial Sages upon his meeting with Silas Clan.

Partly because the Silas Clan was not supposed to have any Martial Sages, according to Sage Sayfeel. Matriarch Nephi was only supposed to be a high-grade Martial Master according to Sage Sayfeel in his last meeting with her.

However, more than thirty years had passed since then. It appeared that Matriarch Nephi had managed to break through to the Sage Realm in the decades since their last meeting.

It threw Rui off his game a bit.

It meant that the consequences of failure could potentially be a lot more dire than he had partially established, forming a much more powerful constraint on his projections as to what degree he could tolerate a break in communications.

If their relationship grew hostile, then he was as good as dead. He highly doubted Sage Sayfeel could fight a Martial Sage while also protecting him from hoards of Martial Artists. Matriarch Nephi was strong enough to keep him preoccupied even if she had little chance of victory.

Of course, it would take incredible incompetence on Rui's part to allow their relationship to degenerate to that degree. He had no intention of allowing that to happen. However, the revelation of Matriarch Nephi becoming a Martial Sage meant that compelling them was not as easy as before.

Still, their first interaction after their meeting gave him hope that he would be able to secure their help for what he sought to achieve.

He followed them deep into the dense and enormous forest, and they arrived at a small river flowing through the forest. On the banks of the river was a humble settlement with more than a thousand people.

They each wore garb and attire similarly fashioned out of animal pelts. The settlement was littered with small tents fashioned with branches, twigs, and leaves. Several Martial Artists stood guard at the edge of the settlements, highly alert and cognizant of their surroundings.

The arrival of the Silas Martial Artists welcomed a sigh of relief from the many clan members of the Silas Clan. Each Martial Artist was priceless to the Silas Clan, and the loss of even a single one of them was a terrible price to pay.

Yet they grew wary and cautious of the two outsiders that followed suit, following their Martial Artists.

The many children of the Silas Clan gathered, staring at the two outsiders brimming with curiosity.

"Rejoice, my children," Matriarch Nephi smiled at the children, talking to them in their ethnic dialect. "There is no cause to be afraid."

She placed a hand on Rui's back. "My grandson, son of Miriam, has returned!"

A wave of surprise and cheers spread through the members of the Silas Clan as they beheld Rui with renewed curiosity and amazement.

"He has come to see us," she declared. "And see him we shall."

She turned to him, meeting his eyes. "The clan council shall hear what he has to say, what he has to offer, and what he seeks. The clan council shall judge whether he is worthy to bear the name of Silas."

A wave of murmurs spread through the clan.

"Er..." Rui didn't understand a word of what was being uttered. "Grandmother...?"

"We will listen to what you have to say, young Rui," her elderly voice assured him. "And the clan will judge you. If we approve, you may be able to gain what you seek. What the world seeks to gain from us."

Rui furrowed his eyebrows. "Which is...?"

"The Eye of Prophecy, of course," she replied. "However, only those who bear the name of Silas may come to gain the technique of the Eye of Prophecy. You may bear our blood, but blood alone is not enough to bear our name. Should you fail to gain our approval, you will never be able to gain the Eye of Prophecy."

Rui furrowed his eyebrows.

Things were not proceeding faster than he had expected. He had completely lost control over the flow of conversation. His primary purpose here was to gain information about the Divine Doctor.

Of course, he would be lying if he said he wasn't interested in the Eye of Prophecy technique.

For now, he decided not to disrupt their formalities; it was clearly important to them. It wasn't long before something akin to a shed was constructed, featuring many rock stools that accommodated many important members of the Silas Clan, such as their elders and their Martial Masters.

At their forefront sat Matriarch Nephi.

"Sit." She instructed him.

Sage Sayfeel stood behind him impassively, never once leaving his side.

"Now then, young Rui," she remarked. "Tell us."

Rui tilted his head. "Tell you what…?"

"Tell us why," her aged voice. "Tell us why you seek the Eye of Prophecy."

Rui took a deep breath. "…I require the power of the Eye of Prophecy to find someone. And perhaps more importantly…"

His voice grew firmer. "I wished to empower my innate prophetic power with the Eye of Prophecy."

This sent a wave of shock across the members of the Silas Clan.

Matriarch Nephi narrowed her eyes at his words. "…You mean to say you already possess the power of prophecy?"

"Yes, grandmother," Rui replied firmly. "I possess the power to see the future and harness it for my Martial Path."

"…Impossible!"

"Only the Silas Clan possesses the power of prophecy."

"We should punish him for lies!"

He had accounted for the possibility of the Silas Clan's displeasure at this revelation, but alas, there wasn't much he could do to prevent it. The matriarch quickly quietened the people behind her with a gesture of her hand.

"And just what is your Martial Path?" Matriarch Nephi asked.

"…My Martial path is Adaptive Evolution, grandmother," Rui replied truthfully.

As he feared, none of them missed the connection.

"Adaptive Evolution…" She whispered, narrowed her eyes. "Hmmm…interesting. And you say your Martial Art possesses prophetic power?"

"It certainly does, grandmother," Rui replied.

"Then we will have you prove that claim before we continue this hearing," Matriarch Nephi declared. "The Martial Path is a gateway to the soul. A Martial Artist must be judged by his Martial Art."